Building Operator Certification (BOC) trainer, Cec Colbourne, answered questions about industry changes, a career in energy management, and energy management training. Read the Q&A.

How did you get your start in Energy Management?

Working as an instructor in BES courses at Sheridan and Seneca College.

What are you most proud of in your career?

Obtaining:

• HVAC licence
• Second class stationary engineering licence
• Air conditioning and refrigeration technician diploma

What have you seen as the greatest change in your industry?

Building sustainability, and the complexity of the commercial buildings.

How do you see energy management evolving over the next 10 years?

It will become a major part of the day-to-day operation of commercial buildings.

What is one thing you wish you would have known earlier in your career and would like to communicate with other professionals in the industry?

The impact that the building operator has on the bottom line of commercial buildings, and that education is an ongoing process.

How do you see new carbon restriction tools (cap and trade, carbon pricing, etc.) affecting decision relating to energy?

I think the present system of carbon taxing is not working. There seems to be a general lack of understanding of what a carbon footprint is and what carbon taxing is all about.

What is the best professional advice you ever received?

Keep improving your skills.

How can a certification from your workshop benefit someone in their career?

In the Building Operator Certification workshop, you are being taught by a building operator who has gone through the same things that you are in your building.